The old highway Ermine Street passed through what is today Edmonton. Ermine Street was the main Roman road from London to Lincoln and on to York.
Edmonton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as Adelmetone- 'a farmstead or estate of a man called Ēadhelm' from an Old English personal name and tūn.[3]

The population of this area grew rapidly, reaching 445,875 by 1911 and would today be about 615,000. As the population mushroomed Middlesex was subdivided into many small local government areas, a much smaller Edmonton of 3,894 acres (16 km2) eventually achieving the status of borough (main article Municipal Borough of Edmonton) in 1937. At the 1961 census the borough had a population of 91,956.[6] This was absorbed into the London Borough of Enfield in 1965, and the former town hall and civic buildings were controversially demolished by Enfield Council in 1989.[7]

Pymmes Park with its historic walled garden is Upper Edmonton's park.
Pymmes Park originated as a private estate. In the late 16th century it was owned by the powerful Cecil family. In 1589 Robert Cecil, later 1st Earl of Salisbury, spent his honeymoon at Pymmes. Cecil was a protege of Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I's chief spymaster and he succeeded him as Secretary of State in 1590. The estate was eventually acquired by Edmonton Council and opened as a public park in 1906. Pymmes House was destroyed by fire during the Second World War and the remains were demolished.

Gilpin's spouse decides she and her husband should spend their twentieth wedding anniversary at The Bell Inn, Fore Street, Edmonton. The journey is beset with misfortune from start to finish. Gilpin loses control of his horse which carries him on to the town of Ware ten miles (16 km) distant. On the return journey, Gilpin is still unable to handle his steed, as he once again he fails to stop at The Bell. The horse gallops back to Cheapside much to the dismay of his concerned spouse.[10]

Gilpin is remembered in Edmonton by the statue at Fore Street, the Wetherspoons outlet the Gilpin's Bell public house opposite the site of the original inn and the 1950s council housing Gilpin House in Upper Fore Street.

The railway arrived in 1840 with the opening of the first section of the Lea Valley Line from Stratford to Broxbourne. A station was provided in Water Lane (Angel Road). As the station was badly sited and the trains were slow and expensive, few people used the railway in the early days, preferring the horse buses. In 1845 there were buses every 15 minutes along Fore Street, travelling alternately to Bishopsgate and Holborn.

The single-track line from a junction just north of Angel Road to Enfield Town opened on 1 March 1849, with an intermediate single-platform station at Lower Edmonton, located at the edge of the village green. The service was infrequent and often required a change of train at the junction. This, coupled with the train taking the long way round through Stratford to get to the terminus at Bishopsgate, meant that the railway offered little competition to the existing horse coaches and buses.

The direct line from London to Enfield Town was opened in four stages, from Bethnal Green to Stoke Newington on 27 May 1872; from Stoke Newington through to Lower Edmonton High Level on 22 July 1872, with stations in Edmonton at Silver Street and a new High Level station at Lower Edmonton, which was renamed Edmonton Green in 1992; the short section from Lower Edmonton High Level to Edmonton Junction (where the new line met the original Eastern Counties Railway route from Angel Road to Enfield Town via Lower Edmonton Low Level) on 1 August 1872; and the suburban platforms on the west side of Liverpool Street station on 2 February 1874.

The stations were well sited and offered exceptionally cheap workmen's fares of just 2d on trains arriving at Liverpool Street prior to 07:00, 3d on those arriving between 07:00 and 07:30, and half-price returns on those arriving between 07:30 and 08:00. A horse tramway along Fore Street opened in 1881. The tramway was re-constructed and electrified during 1905, lasting until 1938 when trolley buses took over.

The Edmonton Green area is currently being redeveloped by St. Modwen Properties. The £100 million project will include new housing, bus station, clinic and refurbishment of the shopping centre.[20] In addition, a 73-room Travelodge hotel will be opened on the development.[21]

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson visited Edmonton in November 2008 to release his Time For Action plan. He claimed his proposals would help stop young people becoming repeat offenders.[22]

Edmonton currently has some of the highest levels of unemployment in Britain, with the recession of the late 2000s pushing unemployment to nearly 14% by 2009.[23]

On 18 June 2011 over 400 people marched through Edmonton to make a stand against gun and knife crime.[24]

The mostly 15th century church is located in Church Street. It is the oldest building in Edmonton.

Angel Place

A circa 1730 terrace of linked Grade II* Listed Buildings which were altered in the middle of the 19th century. 185, 187 and 189 were extensively restored in the 1980s to include the formation of an arch at 187 Angel Place with prize-winning [27] gardens behind. Set back from Fore Street, the A1010 road, and standing close to the junction with the A406 road, the buildings were adjacent to The Angel public house demolished to widen the North Circular Road.[28]

Charles Lamb Institute

The Grade II listed building is located in Church Street. Designed by J. S. Alder and opened in 1908. The building today is used as a church.[8]

Edmonton Central Library

The former public library (closed 1991) opened in 1897 at Fore Street. Designed by Maurice B. Adams with bequests provided by the John Passmore Edwards foundation. Today the Grade II listed building is used as a religious and community centre. (Inside the library by the main entrance were two portrait plaques of Charles Lamb and John Keats by George Frampton, 1908. The plaques can be viewed at Community House, 313 Fore Street, Edmonton).[29]

The simple yellow brick structure with red brick dressings is located on the south side of Church Street. Initially the school, founded in 1784, had been on a different site. However the benefactor, Obadiah Legrew, grew tired of the children close to his home. He had the original school demolished, drew £170 from the trust, and purchased another plot of land. In 1793 the new school was built afresh, away from his delicate ears. Pupils aged between 7 and 14 were clothed and educated, although the main purpose was to fit them for domestic service. The facade carries a figure of a charity girl and the words A structure of Hope founded in Faith on the basis of Charity. The school closed in 1904.[36][37]

Lamb's Cottage

Formerly known as Bay Cottage. The cottage is believed to have been built in the 1680s and is located in the Church Street conservation area.[28] Writers
Charles and Mary Lamb occupied the house between 1833–34, and is where Charles Lamb died.[38] The cottage was sold to its new owners in June 2008.[39]

The hospital is located in Sterling Way, Upper Edmonton. Built in 1842 by the Edmonton Board of Guardians as the Edmonton Union Workhouse. A separate infirmary block was opened in 1910. Much of the building was taken over for use as a military hospital in 1915, during the First World War, was returned to civilian use in 1920 and renamed the North Middlesex Hospital.[41]

Salisbury House

The house dates to the late 16th/early 17th century, and is the oldest building in Edmonton apart from All Saints' Church. The house which is located in Bury Street West, Lower Edmonton has been a private residence and a school before it was bought by Edmonton council in 1936. The building was established as an arts centre in 1957 (the first to be provided by a local authority in London).[42] In 1992 it underwent a major restoration. The house is Grade II listed along with some of the surrounding walls.[43]

The Crescent

A terrace of twenty five Georgian houses located in the Hertford Road. Built between 1826 and 1851 by a London solicitor. By the late 19th century the Crescent had been largely split into flats.[44][45]

Edmonton Methodist Church. Located at 300 Fore Street, on the corner of Brettenham Road. There has been a Methodist church in Edmonton since the 19th century. The main part of the current building was erected in 1927.[46]

Edmonton Baptist Church. Located close to Edmonton Green, a short walk from Edmonton railway station. Built in 1976.[47]

Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.[51] Located on the junction of Town Road and Logan Road. Greek Orthodox since 1977, formerly the Anglican Church of St. Martin.[52] The Church was built in 1909 and consecrated in 1911.[53]

Mevlana Rumi Mosque. Located in Fore Street and opened in 2008 by the followers of Fethullah Gulen.[54]

Silver Street Community Church. Located in Statham Grove, N18. Started in 2015 in partnership with Enfield Evangelical Free Church [55]

Edmonton Salvation Army. Located on Fore Street and was opened in 1889. It was rebuilt in 1993 after part of the original building fell into disrepair.[56]

Bury Lodge Gardens. The gardens are located in Bury Street West. Built on land belonging to Bury Lodge house (demolished 1935) and the nearby Salisbury House. The ornamental garden includes brick pillared pergolas, rose gardens and a pond. Other facilities are a playing field. The southern boundary of the park is bordered by Salmons Brook.[62][63]

Churchfields Recreation Ground. The recreation ground is located close to the A10 in Lower Edmonton. The grounds facilities include playing fields and children's play area. The site is the home to London's only complete Second World War Civil Defence Centre.[63][64]

Craig ParkTQ3448092570. The park is located in Upper Edmonton and lies close to Angel Road A406. Facilities include sports pitches, children's play area and hard court.

Jubilee Park. Covering 37 acres (150,000 m2) of land previously used for brick-making. The park opened on 24 June 1939 to commemorate King George VSilver Jubilee in 1935. Facilities include, the Henry Barrass Stadium, formal gardens, pitch and putt, sports pitches, tennis courts and wildlife area.[65][66]

Montagu Road Recreation GroundTQ3511193199. The recreation ground is located in Montagu Road B137. The facilities include playing fields, children's play area and hard courts.

Tatem Park and Hollywood Gardens. The park and the gardens opened in 1938 and were built on a former gravel pit which belonged to the Tatem sisters, who donated the site to Edmonton Borough Council in the 1930s for use as a public park. The gardens are named after Alderman Hollywood, former Mayor of Edmonton. The ornamental gardens occupy a triangle between two main roads A10 and the A111. In 1983 a nature area was created with the accent on wildlife conservation.[67]